It was only recently (maybe 1-2 years) that I have actually thought about eating healthy. And it was only when I came across some really great recipes/foods that I realized it was sustainable. And substituting lower cal options was a great way not to deprive myself. I'll share my favs that keep me on track, maybe you can share yours too?
PIZZA!!!
I buy a $1 pizza dough from Trader Joes. I section it into 4 parts, and put 3 in the freezer. I take the remaining dough, and stretch it out real thin, bake at 450 in oven for 5 minutes, add pizza sauce (or spagh. sauce), pizza seasing, put cheese and whatever else, bake another 5 minutes...and add red pepper flakes....I try to have every Friday. For 350-500 calories, and less than a dollar what is not to like? Throw in a salad, and I don't feel bad if I watch a movie Friday night instead of working out. Next Friday morning, I take another section out of freezer, put in fridge and when I get home make some more pizza.
Frozen low cal dinners, snacks (like pudding), I can take on the road.
Green bean french fries and sweet potatoes (w/ a little butter, sugar, and cinnamon)
Rot. chicken I can pick up at grocery store and have 4 meals plus soup.
Pomegranite and chocolate covered pom. seeds (hits the spot)
Fat free greek yogurt. Either savory as an herby dip with raw veg, or sweet with fresh fruit. Love it.
Vitamix "Italian ice" chocolate cherry flavor (1/2 banana, 6 ice cubes, dash of vanilla extract, unsweetened cocoa powder, splash of milk, 1/2 cup of pitted cherries). Yum.
no bake skinnytaste.com cheesecake - only I omit the sugar, make it as a mousse and sprinkle with bran buds and a dusting of graham crumbs and fresh fruit. fabulous.
Oh, and greek salad with feta, lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, radishes and greek olives, evoo & vinegar--lots of sodium, but oh so good. I practically lived on these this summer.
Amy's frozen mexican dinners are also a wonderful under 400 calorie dinner in a pinch. Filling and tasty when I don't have to cook for anyone else.
Last edited by 124chicksinger; 12-16-2011 at 06:18 PM.
Seriously I love them. I stopped eating cereal and have been having eggs for breakfast. I FEEL so much better with that protein instead of a bowlful of carbs. My workouts are better too and I've been building muscle!
Fat-free plain greek yogurt mixed with a teaspoon of my homemade jam. i make all sorts of wonderful flavors (Blueberry Citrus, Strawberry Marmalade, Raspberry Mango, Aple-Nut Conserve, Cranberry Peach, etc, etc.) To have that much variety, and control over how much I use it awesome.
I love Lean Cuisines. I know they are salty, blah, blah, blah. But I have 2 favorites and they are AWESOME when i am stressed, in a hurry, etc. My go-to LC Meal is the Spinach and Mushroom pizza. I can heat it up and take it in the car, if needed. My other fave is the chicken fettucini, which I serve over 2 cups of fresh spinach leaves. YUMMO!
Spinach rocks. I put it in EVERYTHING. Protein shakes, omelettes, sandwiches, on pizza, in casseroles and as a salad.
I make a pretty fantabulous homemade mocha for 150 cals. I have at least 1 everyday. It is low-sugar and made with skim milk. The caffeine is so helpful (young kiddos!!) and the milk really makes it a satisfying snack.
I also make homemade pizza, and they are so much healthier. i honestly had no idea how much so, until I figured out the cals. It's cheaper, tastes better and my kids like picking their toppings. Our fave is Lite Alfredo sauce, turkey pepperoni, spinach and roma tomatoes. Regular cheese, though.
As for "products", I really am all about convenience, so I like KIND bars, especially b/c they are made from all natural ingredients. I make my own Vitamuffins and freeze them, and i use Nectar protein powder in my shakes for post-workouts. I know none of this is "essential" but my weight loss has centered around going back to COMPLETE BASICS and reteaching myself how to eat. I still cook meals for my family, but am not 100% at the point where I eat everything they are eating.
Edamame....LOVE LOVE LOVE!
I'm also on a new kick where i am craving semi-unripe bananas and low-fat cheese sticks. LOL My food choices change about every month or so, when some things get too repetive.
I haven't made it in a while, but I used to love buying little low-cal flatbreads and making homemade veggie pizza! They'd get super crispy in the oven.
I also love to add variety to my salads. Sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, walnuts, and fruit are all so yummy in salads!
I make a lot of healthy homemade soups too. Chicken noodle with lots of carrots and celery, white meat, and either egg noodles, wheat noodles, or brown rice. Chili with several types of beans, green pepper, and onion. Beef stew with lean meat and loads of veggies plus barley or rice.
I also make my own desserts and breads with whole wheat flour now. I love the nutty taste in biscuits, pancakes, cookies, etc.
Oh and for snacks - definitely yogurt (sugar free, greek is best), mozz. sticks, pistachios, almonds, celery w/ peanut butter and COTTAGE CHEESE. I pretty much HEART cheese.
I take one slice of low calorie bread (50 cals)
Half a can of tuna in water (40 cals)
miracle whip instead of mayonaise (40cals)
Dijon Mustard (20 cals)
Salt, Pepper, Onion Flakes (10 cals)
Mozarella Cheese instead of Cheddar (60 cals)
This is a great light dinner with lots of protein, pair it with some fruit and salad and its delicious, satisfying, without that full bloat of a big meal. Totally at 220 cals for the sandwhich!
This. I very much look forward to my eggs in the morning! And since I'm low carb I had to learn to love over easy eggs without toast but you know what.. I'm not missing it anymore!
Spaghetti squash and cauliflower are also two things I had NO idea that I would like. Heck, more than like. I'm OBSESSED with them (Specifically garlic spaghetti squash and mashed cauliflower). I never thought I'd look forward to my meals on a diet but I really, really do.
You can boil it, cook it in the oven, or microwave it. Personally, I preheat the oven to 375 and while it's warming up, I pierce the spaghetti squash with a fork a few times and microwave it for 4 minutes. Then I cut it length ways (Microwaving it a tad makes it easier to cut), remove all of the gunk in the middle with the seeds and stuff and stick it face down on a baking sheet that I've sprayed with Pam and let it cook for 45 minutes. Next take a fork and scrape out all of the good stuff. You can just season from there and eat, but I prefer to saute it a frying pan with a little bit of butter (I can have it on the diet I'm on), minced garlic, salt, and pepper. YUM. I could eat it every day if it wasn't such a pain in the butt to make haha. So I make it about once every two weeks.
Seriously I love them. I stopped eating cereal and have been having eggs for breakfast. I FEEL so much better with that protein instead of a bowlful of carbs. My workouts are better too and I've been building muscle!
THIS! I have such a love affair with eggs it's not even funny.
Green smoothies is another one. Also, salads! Salads used to be so boring (tomato + lettuce + dressing = BLAH),but I've gotten creative over the years.
You can pierce the spaghetti squash with a fork numerous times and boil it covered, whole. Then (careful not to get burned) you slice it in half lengthwise from end to end (not across the middle shortwise) and scoop the seeds and flake the strands. Its delicious with a fresh tomato sauce with onion, garlic, basil. Do a search for recipes with it - it makes a fabulous "crust" for pizza.
Also, I forgot to mention fruit smoothies. A little ice, skim milk, 1/2 a banana and any other fruit - peach is super! You can add extracts for different flavors as well. Add pineapple and a splash of coconut extract for "pina colada" flavor.
Michael Angelo's Eggplant Parmesan --- 1cup or 1/6 of the family size is 240 calories... for a frozen meal that is decient ..and soooo yummy
Speaking of Pizza ....
We make chicken pizza with brown bread for the crust and then use a little BBQ sauce instead of tomatoe sauce with a little rotissary chicken ( basically the answer to left over rotissary chicken since it takes several nights for us to consume one) caramelized onions and cheese ( now if I could talk my mom into not killing the pizza with cheese it would actually be rather healthy .. * sighs * Running "joke" between us)
And we also make Chicken Salad Pizza .. basic homemade crust .. chicken salad( canned chicken, mirical whip, green onions) with cheese baked... then the topping is salad (romain lettus, red onion, manderine oranges, chowmein noodles, peach preserves(we use palmers natural no sugar added/ we did black raspberry once as well yummy) , evoo and vinager).. it is sooooo good Soooo good... the only problem if you call it that. I pile on the salad on my pizza and we end up with left over pizza only ... no salad left. I know it sounds discustingly crazy but it is sooooo good and because of the salad on top of the pizza it really stretches the calories.
My morning breakfast sandwich ( the lazy mans way *LOL*) I get a season packet of frozen onions peppers ( celery?)and herbs and pour it in a pan with some grated carrot and caramelize the whole thing then put it in a zip lock in the freezer flattened out so I can break off peices. Then in the morning put on an english muffin to toast. I have a shallow large cofee cup that is absolutely the perfect size I pour some Egg Beaters in and break off a peice of frozen sauted veg and put it in the microwave on medium heat for 3 minutes. I loosen the edges and plop the egg on the english muffin. This is normally completed by a slice or 2 of thinly sliced cold cut( roast beef/ ham ect). A little Dijjan if I feel the need for a little more zestiness. I wrap it in Foil and off to work I go.
I don't know if I have a meal per se but I do have this routine for lunch of a pouch of tuna, fruits and vegetables, and a bag of chips. I drink either spring water or seltzer water with it. I probably could do with out the chips. Maybe I will switch to flaxseed pretzels for lunch eventually.
What Meals Revolutionized Ur Weight Loss??
